a 20-something mom celebrating life's messes and lessons, one sip (& blog post) at a time…

I don’t know how you personally feel about the Oscars. I didn’t watch them but I did watch several clips of the winners’ award acceptance speeches and I was moved by Viola Davis’ in particular. In the beginning of her speech, she says:

“There is one place where all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard.”

That was so profound to me. It brings to mind the word ‘legacy’. The very definition of the word ‘legacy’ is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Which is so weird to me because I feel like my generation is so focused on the ‘now’. The bucket lists and the involvement in politics and the career goals and the degrees and the financial gains. And yes, some of those things have lasting value, but will they be a part of our legacy? Will our greatest potentials be untapped until we are in the ground? Will we allow our entire lives to pass us by before we take the opportunity to do something that touches eternity?

This is one of the best parts (to me) about my faith. I know that if I am serving the Lord where He has called me to be, then I am touching eternity. I am touching eternity by ministering to my husband; modeling what real love looks like to my children. I hope I am leaving a legacy for my kids of a mother that (although incredibly flawed) is faithful to what she believes. Being a mother that is kind and gracious and patient, but also gently guiding my children to become better humans and ultimately, pointing them to Jesus. That is the legacy that I desire.

This quote also reminded me how short our lives here on earth are; James 4:14 says:

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Um, okay. We forget how small we are. We are significant, because we are made in His image, but we are small. Our lives are small and they can only have lasting impact (a legacy, great potential) if we are submitted to Christ. This speaks to me so loudly about this season that I’m in right now.